A busy family's quest to be better prepared to eat on a budget while thinking about the food that they put into their bodies.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Chilliwack

Charlie and I went on a trip. It was horrible. One of the worst experiences of my life, if not the worst day of my life. Charlie was a handful, to say the least. The only times that were enjoyable, after Charlie went off his routine and his rocker, were when he was strapped to a high chair eating.

And, at least, the food we enjoyed, for the most part, was fantastic.

Let's start at the begining: BC Ferries. Charlie and I shared the Traditional Breakfast: toast, hashbrown patties, sausage, sunny-side up eggs. This is a hard meal to mess up, and it was up to par today. However, I spent the entire ride super nauseated, as it was the roughest ferry ride I have ever been on (the net two sailings were cancelled, and people kept being warned to stay seated when possible).

So, in Chilliwack, we went to the Greek Islands for lunch. This is by far the best value in a restaurant as far as Greek food goes. I had the Kalamari, which was served with buttery veggies, roast potatoes, rice, and pita. My only complaint is the rice. It was tender and everything, but boring--although, Charlie ate it anyways.

I also had a Greek salad to start, and while some of my party (mostly the elderly ladies) didn't like the look of the salad, as it had a dressing rather than oil. Some of the salads had too much dressing, but seriously, I would have licked the plate if I had been alone. It was the best Greek salad I ever had. My mom had the soup, a Cream of Lobster and Asparagus, and she loved it too.

Everyone seemed generally happy with their meals, the service was good, the portions were beyond huge, and the prices were fantastic. As a side note, I had Opa at the mall the other day. It was $10 for a gyro and a greek salad (that was mostly lettuce?); at Greek Islands that same meal is on the menu for $9. We were going to have dinner here the next night, it was so good, but after the horrible first day with the baby, we went home. And I was disappointed to not go back.

After the worst nap time known to man, we went to dinner with my uncle who just got back from traveling Asia. He suggested a Vietnamese place. I love Pho, and my grandma thought she would be okay with something there too.

I must apologize for the pictures. We were finished and it is really only what was leftover after we devoured this meal.

I was a little skeptical when we pulled up to Pho Galaxy Vietnamese Restaurant, because it also says "Chinese food" on the sign. But, my fears were put to rest with the awesome service we got. The owner was very kind and helped us get set up in the middle where the high chair they provided wasn't in the way (cutest high chair ever, btw, but very confusing).

It is a fairly small place, and there were people waiting at times, but it was during the dinner rush. The service was very quick all the same.

I had regular beef Pho. Great broth. Very solid. I also tried the salad roll. It was good as well, and I liked that it wasn't the weird deli meat that our usual pho place uses--this was real pork. The serving of peanut sauce with these was HUGE. My grandma had the chicken salad roll, and she enjoyed this as well.

I would go back to Pho Galaxy in a heartbeat. I loved that I could see all the owners around too.

After only a few hours sleep, since the child-turned demon was up until 11:30 and again at 2AM before getting up at 6AM, we went to the Coffee Mill for breakfast.

It is a diner, classically. It has what diners are known for: great waitresses and greasy food. I had pancakes, very fluffy and nice, but I was so exhausted, it could have been linoleum and I am not sure I would have noticed.

Then, we went home, after much debate and everyone being mad at me. I just couldn't do it anymore. I am still so sore after having to pick Charlie up so many times. I don't think people understood how hard it was to be with him in places that are not baby proofed, but even harder than that was that he was not on his schedule and no one was willing to help/listen/agree to let him be. Anyway, I could go on and on about what happened and why, but in the end, I know my child the best (despite everyone feeling the need to tell me "Well if you ____ then he will ____), and I knew he needed to get back home and back to his routine.

So, we had our fourth meal on the ferry. I had the clam chowder and a thai chicken wrap. The chowder was good as always, but the wrap was horrible: just a big wrap filled with rice. For $11, I should have had the burger and fries, but I was trying to be "good".

Anyway, our three day trip turned into a day and a half. I'm back to my regular updates and a million-times-so happy to be home.